If Bradman was alive today...

[xanderbiscuits]

If Don Bradman was alive today how do you think he would fair in today's game?

Do you think he would still dominate?

He would have to play a lot more international games against more nations including ODIs. Bowlers are quicker and players are faster and stronger.

On the other side of the coin there would be greatly improved technology (Especially bats) giving him a boost!

I personally think that he would still be a great player but he would not be so much head and shoulders over the rest if he had to play in today's game.

 

[Perm]

Too hard to judge really. There are too many variables to weigh up to come to any sort of reliable conclusion, it's all speculation.

 

[simmy]

Perm gets it spot on. He is a bright young man that one.

 

[Perm]

Perm gets it spot on. He is a bright young man that one.

You could try and come up with an argument about how good or bad Bradman would be in todays game, but quite frankly it's pointless because it is nothing more than pure speculation. Still, it would be good reading if somebody does try.

 

[steds]

If Don Bradman was alive today how do you think he would fair in today's game?

Considering he'd be 98, I'd guess he wouldn't be quite as gun as he used to be.

 

[NUFAN]

I was going to say what Steds said but I'll change my answer and concentrate on what I really think, especially in one day cricket.

The pitches that he played on were pretty bad back in the day, so I would imagine he would love the current pitches. Bradman always hit the ball on the ground, so he would need to learn how to hit over the in field on some occasions.

He is by far the best batsmen the world has ever seen so I just think it's a real negative thing to say that he wouldn't be a success in today's game.

I doubt he would dominate the one day game and average double of what his peers average but I am sure he could average between 40 and 50.

Only one player could push Ponting down the order to number 4 and that would be Don Bradman.

Only one player could push Ponting down the order to number 4 and that would be Bradman.

In Test matches he would still be a champion. It's not as if everyone was making runs back in the day, in fact there are higher team scores now, so perhaps he would be averaging over 100 if he was around today.

So I am going to guess that he would be a good ODI batsmen averaging 40 or so with the bat, but in Test matches he would be up there with Roger Federer and Tiger Woods as the greatest sportsmen in the world and he would average better then his 99.94.

Only one player could push Ponting down the order to number 4 and that's Don Bradman.

 

[shortpitched713]

The pitches that he played on were pretty bad back in the day, so I would imagine he would love the current pitches. Bradman always hit the ball on the ground, so he would need to learn how to hit over the in field on some occasions.

The pitches of that era were "better" than those of the eras preceding it and the era directly following it. There was obviously the odd dodgy one due to them being uncovered from the elements, but from the reports I've heard they were on the whole the "best" during the time that pitched were uncovered.

 

[NUFAN]

The pitches of that era were "better" than those of the eras preceding it and the era directly following it. There was obviously the odd dodgy one due to them being uncovered from the elements, but from the reports I've heard they were on the whole the "best" during the time that pitched were uncovered.

No your reports are wrong.. The pitches weren't good, add to the fact that he didn't have protection and there was bodyline, Bradman would be awesome if playing today.

 

[age_master]

I would back Bradman to dominate just as much - particularly right at the moment with the lack of quality bowlers.

A couple of things to consider;
- pitches are very batsman friendly these days
- Bradman would be a professional and would have access to training and video analysis and things like that and would possibly be able to improve himself more.

 

[Rajeev]

Same thing as

What if Mohammed Ali fought today?

Bradman was the best of his time. Nothing More, Nothing Less

 

[pup11]

If Bradman would have been playing today he would probably have scored a lot more runs then he did because of the flat tracks and great bats, but then one could always argue that whether his body could have withstood the pressure of the modern-day packed international schedules.


So you can't really judge how good Sir Don would have been in this era, but still he is the ultimate batsman in my book, in his case stats don't lie at all.

 

[simmy]

How could he be that good, as to average 99 when people like Lara, Ponting, Kallis, Dravid, Pietersen, Tendulkar all average less than 60.

I find it hard to believe he would be that dominate, although it is clearly impossible to judge.

 

[howardj]

You can only compare someone to their contemporaries.

If it was so easy back then, why wasn't everyone averaging 99.

Or 89.

Or even 79.

He was a standout back then, and would stand out equally as much now.

 

[pasag]

Meh, I'd like to see players from today play back then, more than anything. There'd be carnage imo.

 

[Ash_A55]

I doubt he would suceed to the same level.

 

[andyc]

I've no doubt that he'd still be averaging the same, if not more.

 

[UncleTheOne]

Same thing as

What if Mohammed Ali fought today?

Bradman was the best of his time. Nothing More, Nothing Less

Bradman is the undisputed greatest of all time. It's highy questionable as to whether ali is the greatest HW of all time.

 

[pup11]

I think we need to take into account that Bradman scored all those runs on uncovered wickets and on such wickets even ordinary bowlers become lethal.


Compared to today all the modern day greats are exposed technicaly on a surface that offers something to the bowlers.



So Sir Donald was easily the best batsman ever to have played the game at the highest level, he was a very special player to make 300 runs in one day of test cricket.

 

[Richard]

This'd be interesting if it hadn't been done 1,440,325 times on CW before.

Mind, no C_C at the mo...

 

[shortpitched713]

No your reports are wrong.. The pitches weren't good, add to the fact that he didn't have protection and there was bodyline, Bradman would be awesome if playing today.

Averages during different decades.

Bradman played almost the entirety of his career in the 30s and 40s. Thanks for being so polite though.